In Chinese Medicine, physical exercise has a close relationship with vital energy (“qi”, also known as “chi”) health. In Chinese Medicine movements of the muscles and the four limbs are believed to depend on the power of the vital energy—qi. When the internal vital energy is sufficient, the limbs and muscles are healthy and strong because they are nourished by the blood and qi. If the internal vital energy is deficient however, the muscles become weak, resulting in feelings of tiredness and general malaise.
Vital energy plays an important role in supporting physical activities of the body. During intense periods of physical exercise, especially endurance types, there are great demands on muscle energy and also cardiovascular and pulmonary functions. In Chinese Medicine, these are all closely related to the vital energy—qi of the body. Lung qi is responsible for pulmonary functions while heart qi is responsible for cardiovascular function. Physical activities, including the limb movements, on the other hand, are mainly coordinated by spleen qi. Therefore, the body's physical performance is closely linked with having an adequate amount of vital energy so that the organs can communicate and work efficiently with one another.
Intense physical exercise can easily exhaust the body's energy stores and consume vital energy. In order to maintain continuous performance in physical exercise, it is important to pay attention to the recovery of vital energy. Adequate rest is essential. If exhaustion is so severe that the body is unable to recover, an individual can develop a certain degree of deficiency of qi and vital energy, which may manifest as fatigue, lack of energy and unsatisfactory performance of physical activities. If the deficiency is very severe or persists for a long time, it can even affect a person's overall health because vital energy is also responsible for the majority of physiological activities in the body.
Balance between vital energy health and physical exercise is very important. If there is an optimal balance, physical exercise can benefit the health of the whole body because it promotes blood and qi circulation, which in turn supports vital energy health. On the other hand, if physical exercise is too intense, it can deplete the energy reserve of the body and exhaust the vital energy which over time may then result in health problems. Therefore, to maintain health and reach optimal physical performance, new methods of improving the body's recovery after exercise are desirable, especially to improve the recovery of the vital energy.